A former prosecutor who blew the whistle on the abuse of our Constitution in the Guantanamo Bay military commissions is now in danger of losing his 19-year military career. Lieutenant Colonel Darrel Vandeveld was retaliated against for having the courage to follow orders and speak the truth about the mockery of due process afforded to detainees in Guantanamo Bay.

On June 1, a military promotions board will meet, ironically, not to honor
or promote Lt. Col. Vandeveld, a highly decorated member of the U.S. Army Reserve
Judge Advocate General Corps who served in Bosnia, Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan,
as both a solder in combat and a prosecutor. More than likely, they will smear
his name, preventing him from an honorable retirement just 4 months away from
20 years of outstanding service to our nation.

Lt. Col. Vandeveld needs your help to defend his honor, as he has stood up
to defend the Constitution.

Lt. Col. Vandeveld resigned from his position at Guantanamo, because he could
not ethically or legally prosecute Mohammed Jawad. The Jawad case brought
to light many of the problems occurring at Guantanamo, including abusive interrogations,
evidence withheld from the defense, judicial incompetence, and confessions coerced
through torture. Lt. Col. Vandeveld gave judge-ordered testimony in the
Jawad case, and in return for his honesty under oath and the public
outrage that followed, the military issued him his first negative performance
evaluation.

Lt. Col. Vandeveld was then subpoenaed in 2009 to testify before Congress regarding
the Military Commissions Act of 2009, where he again spoke the truth, stating,
"the military commission system is broken beyond repair. Even good faith
efforts at revision...leave in place provisions that are illegal and unconstitutional."
Instead of taking his testimony seriously, the Army chose to retaliate
against Lt. Col. Vandeveld for his courageous stand and also to resume the commissions
at Guantanamo with minimal revisions.

We cannot allow the reputation of a distinguished soldier to be destroyed because
he had the courage speak honestly when ordered to do so. We need to defend men
and women of conscience who, like Lt. Col. Vandeveld, honor American values
of justice, due process and basic human rights above all else. Their courage
on the battlefield and in the courtroom to step forward and put an end to abuses
of the Constitution they swore to protect and defend should be rewarded, not
punished.

We urge you to pass
this message on to your friends, family, and anyone who may be concerned
for our nation's safety and security.

Disclaimer
The views expressed in this article are the sole
responsibility of the author, who is solely responsible for its content,
and do not necessarily reflect those of 911Truth.org. 911Truth.org will
not be responsible or liable for any inaccurate or incorrect statements
contained in this article.